Tamperproof, recloseable package and closure therefor

ABSTRACT

A container having a tamperproof, reclosable closure, the container being of the bag or carton type and having an opening formed by opposite front and rear walls, the closure comprising a flat strip, a portion of which is folded upon itself to form an envelope for a deformable wire. The closure is formed from a paper strip heat-sealable on one side only so that when the heatsealable side is folded in face-to-face relationship over a portion of the width of the strip to form an envelope for the deformable wire sealed therein, there results a segment along the length of the strip which is heat-sealable and an adjacent segment, containing the wire, which is not heat-sealable. The closure is attached to the flattened opening of a bag by heatsealing it to one side and folding the ends thereof to the other side of the bag and sealing thereto. Accordingly, when attached and sealed to a bag, the envelope portion of the closure, containing the deformable wire, will not seal thereto so that the end tab portions of the enclosed wire can be unfolded from the bag permitting the bag to be opened. The bag can then be reclosed by refolding the enclosed wire tabs. Prior to the initial opening, the heat-sealed segment must be ruptured so that the closure provides an indication that the container has been opened.

United States Patent [191 Styers Jan. 8, 1974 1 TAMPERPROOF, RECLOSEABLE PACKAGE AND CLOSURE THEREFOR [75] Inventor: Henry H. Styers, Chicago, Ill.

[73] Assignee: Kloz-Seal Products Co., Inc.,

Chicago, Ill.

[22] Filed: Jan. 17, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 218,407

[52] US. Cl 229/62, 150/3, 229/66 [51] Int. Cl B65d 33/30 [58] Field of Search 229/62, 66; 150/3 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,315,877 4/1967 Grevich 229/66 X 3,203,621 8/1965 Wright 229/66 X 2,103,840 12/1937 Bauer 229/62 X 3,240,327 3/1966 Brina 229/14 B X 1,919,819 7/1933 Williams 229/62 X 3,295,744 1/1967 Turpin et al. 229/62 2,415,139 2/1947 Kohl 229/62 FOREIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS 362,906 10/1960 Switzerland 229/62 Primary Examiner-Wil1iam T. Dixson, Jr. Assistant ExaminerStephen P. Garbe Attorney-Gildo E. Fato [5 7] ABSTRACT A container having a tamperproof, reclosable closure, the container being of the bag or carton type and having an opening formed by opposite front and rear walls, the closure comprising a flat strip, a portion of which is folded upon itself to form an envelope for a deformable wire. The closure is formed from a paper strip heat-scalable on one side only so that when the heat-scalable side is folded in face-to-face relationship over a portion of the width of the strip to form an envelope for the deformable wire sealed therein, there results a segment along the length of the strip which is heat-sealable and an adjacent segment, containing the wire, which is not heat-scalable. The closure is attached to the flattened opening of a bag by heatsealing it to one side and folding the ends thereof to the other side of the bag and sealing thereto. Accordingly, when attached and sealed to a bag, the envelope portion of the closure, containing the deformable wire, will not seal thereto so that the end tab portions of the enclosed wire can be unfolded from the bag permitting the bag to be opened. The bag can then be reclosed by refolding the enclosed wire tabs. Prior to the initial opening, the heat-sealed segment must be ruptured so that the closure provides an indication that the container has been opened.

5 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJAN 81974 3,784,087

' SHEEI 1 or 2 FIGJ BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the packaging of products such as cookies, sugar or coffee, or the like, it is desirable to employ a closure which can be tightly sealed to minimize contamination and prevent tampering. Such products are generally used in relatively small quantities, requiring the package or container to be repeatedly opened and closed. It is therefore also desirable that such a container may be conveniently opened and reclosed while at the same time maintaining product freshness. One type of closure presently used is formed by folding the opening of the bag or container upon itself and sealing the folded portion to the side wall of the bag by means of adhesive. Such closures must be destroyed to open the container and hence, while tamperproof, they cannot affectively be reclosed to protect the contents of the container from contact with air or moisture. Furthermore, there is the possibility that adhesive may enter the package, which is undesirable. Another type of package which is commonly used comprises a bag having a deformable metal strip attached adjacent the opening. Such packages are filled, the opening folded over the metal strip or tie is bent to hold the folded bag opening in place. While such closures can be opened and closed easily, they do not provide satisfactory original seals to prevent contamination or tampering during transportation or storage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The closure of the present invention provides a container which can be originally sealed against contamination or tampering and can be easily opened and reclosed after breaking of the seal while at the same time maintaining product freshness. Briefly, the closure of the present invention comprises a strip of paper, foil or other suitable material, of greater width than the container to which it is to be attached and having a deformable wire positioned therein in a portion of the strip which is folded upon itself to form a pocket or envelope for the wire. The closure strip includes a heat-sealable coating or film, on one side only which enables the formation of the pocket or envelope for the wire and which results in a closure strip having on one side thereof a heat-sealable segment across its length and an adjacent segment which is not heat-sealable and within which is contained the deformable wire. Accordingly, when attached to a bag and sealed thereto, the portion or segment containing the wire will not seal thereto whereas the heat-sealable segment will provide a tight original seal which must be broken to open the package. The closure is attached by heat-sealing the sealable segment to one wall of a flattened bag opening, folding the end portions or tabs around to the opposite wall of the bag and sealing them thereto. The bag is opened by unfolding the tab portions of the wire, which as previously described, are not sealed to the bag, and breaking the sealed segment along the edges of the bag. The bag can be reclosed by refolding the enclosed wire around the bag.

DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partially in section, of a container of the present invention, with a closure attached thereto and illustrating the container in the open position prior to sealing the container opening.

FIG. 2 is a top view of a container with the closure attached thereto, taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a side view in cross-section of a container with a closure attached thereto.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a top of a container with the closure strip attached thereto and folded over, illustrating the steps in forming the container closure.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the container of FIG. 4, taken along line 55 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view, partially in section of a container with the top thereof sealed in accordance with the present invention and the bottom for filling of the container, and illustrating the opened closure in phanthom lines.

FIG. 7 is a rear view of a container, partially in section, showing the tab portions of the closure separated therefrom prior to opening the container.

FIG. 8 is a side view in cross-section illustrating the top of a sealed container with two-folds.

FIG. 9 is a partial plan view of a closure strip.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The invention will be described in terms of a lined paper bag sealed with the closure as hereinafter described, the top of the bag being folded over once before sealing, the bottom of the bag being open for subsequent sealing after filling of the bag. The closure, however, may be applied to various types of containers in various manners. In accordance with the invention, there is provided a closure strip having a flat deformable wire positioned therein in a portion of the strip which is folded upon itself. The strip of paper from which the closure is formed, being heat-sealable on one side only, will thereby produce a closure strip having a continuous heat-sealable segment across its length and another continuous segment which is not heat sealable and within which is positioned the deformable wire. When attached to a bag and sealed thereto, the portion of the closure within which is the deformable wire will therefore not seal to the bag so that together with appropriate perforations or scoring, the enclosed wire portion can be detached from the bag, permitting the bag to be opened for removal of the contents or a portion of the contents. The bag can then be reclosed by refolding the enclosed wire around the bag. A typical bag is illustrated in the drawings and is shown in various stages of being sealed, opened and reclosed. The bag 10 may be formed of paper or other sheet material and may have an inner liner 11, such as of plastic, to act as a moisture barrier. The bag 10 includes a front wall 12 and a back rear wall 13 and may be pleated about fold lines 14 to permit expansion of the bag 10 when filled.

The closure strip 15 is shown separately in FIG. 9 and comprises a strip of paper 16 coated on one side with a theremosplastic material 17, such as polyethylene, so that it is heat-sealable on that side. The strip of paper 16 is folded upon itself and heat-sealed in a face-to-face relationship about a flat strip of wire 18 to thereby form an envelope 19 for the wire 18. The strip of wire 18, which may be round or have other cross-sectional configurations rather than flat, is manually deformable and should retain its deformed shape. This permits the wire 18 to be folded about the upper portion of the bag for sealing purposes and subsequently manually unfolded and folded for opening and reclosing of the bag 10. The wire 18 may be drawn from a supply roll and positioned on the flat strip of paper 16 on the side coated with theremoplastic material at a point intermediate one edge. The paper 16 is then folded over and heat-sealed to itself to form the envelope 19 containing the wire 18. The strip of paper 16 containing the wire 18 is then cut into lengths greater than the width of the bag or container to which it is to be attached, thereby providing end portions 20 which can be folded about the bag 10 for sealing purposes. Preferably, the end portions 20 of the closure strip are perforated or scored 21 adjacent the enclosed wire 18 to provide a weakened line to facilitate opening of the bag 10 as will hereinafter be explained. Since the strip of paper 16 is' coated only on one side with a thermosplastic, heat scalable material 17, the face of the other side of the closure strip and the face of the folded portion will comprise the closure strip material, which in addition to paper can be plastic, metallic, foil, or other material which is not heat-scalable. Accordingly, since the strip 16 is folded upon itself to form the envelope 19 for the wire 18, there is formed a closure strip 15 having on one side a continuous, heat-sealable segment 22 across the length thereof and an adjacent paper segment 23 which is uncoated and therefore not heat-scalable, while the face of the other side comprises the closure strip material. There is thereby formed a closure strip 15, a portion of the width thereof across the entire length being heat-scalable. While the thermoplastic material 17 may be applied in discontinuous fashion to produce spaced apart welds upon the application of heat, a continuous application is preferred and will produce a stronger, more impervious bond.

Attachment of the closure strip 15 and sealing of the bag 10 is illustrated in FIGS. 1 5. The closure strip 15 is positioned at the top end 24 of a flattened bag blank 10 having a front wall 12 and rear wall 13 folded flat about fold lines 14 on either side of the bag and having open top 24 and bottom 25 ends. As illustrated, the bag 10 has an internal liner 1] and hence is particularly suited for the packaging of cookies and the like where it is desirable to maintain product freshness prior to and after the bag 10 has been opened. The closure strip 15 is positioned against the rear wall 13 with the segment 23 facing upwardly adjacent to the edge of the open end 24 of the bag 10, the end portions of the closure strip 15 projecting outwardly from the sides of the bag 10. The closure strip 15 is next affixed to the bag 10 by heat-sealing methods, as illustrated in phanthom lines in FIG. 3. While the end portions or tabs 20 may now be folded and sealed to the front wall 12 of the bag 10, to provide more effective sealing, the top end 24 of the bag 10 to which is attached the closure strip 15 may be folded over one or more times, in widths substantially the same as the width of the closure strip 15, as best illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 8. Generally, a single fold is sufficient to minimize the ingress of air and moisture and thereby maintain product freshness. As best illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4 and S, the end 24 of the bag 10 to which is affixed the closure strip 15 is folded over once, in a width substantially the same as the width of the closure strip 15 and in a direction so that in the folded portion, the bag wall 12 is in face-toface relationship and the closure strip 15 is outside the fold. The closure strip 15 is now positioned with the segment 23 facing downwardly as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 with the end tabs 20 projecting outwardly as illustrated in phanthom lines in FIGS. 4 and 5. The end tabs 20 are then folded tightly against the back wall 13 of the bag 10 and the heat-scalable segment 22 is sealed thereto by the application of heat. The segment 22, being sealed to both the front 12 and back 13 walls of the bag 10 provides a tight seal for the end 24 of the bag 10. The adjacent segment 23 or envelope [9 containing the deformable wire 18, not being heatsealable, is not sealed to the bag 10 but instead is held in place by the deformable wire 18.

Accordingly, the end portion or tab 20 of the envelope 19 can be released as subsequently described, to open and reclose the bag 10. FIG. 6 illustrates a bag) with the top end 24 sealed with a closure strip 15 in accordance with the present invention. The bottom end 25 of the bag 10 is shown open for subsequent filling of the bag 10 with the desired contents (not shown), such as cookies, etc.

Opening and reclosing of the bag 10 is best illustrated with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. To open the closure 15 and thence the bag 10, the tab 26 is gripped with the fingers and pulled whereupon it will separate from the end portion 20 along the perforations 21 and can then be folded outwardly as illustrated in FIG. 7. The tab 26 comprises the end portion of the segment 23 or envelope 19 containing the deformable wire 18. As previously described, the segment 23 is not heat-sealable so that the tab 26 is not sealed to the bag wall 13 and therefore is easily pulled therefrom. The tab 27, which comprises the end portion of the segment 22, being heat-sealed to the bag wall 13 remains attached thereto when the tab 26 containing the wire 18 is unfolded. After unfolding the tab 26, the tab 27 is torn or ruptured along the edge 28 of the bag 10 to permit unfolding and opening of the end 24 of the bag 10 as illustrated in phanthom lines in FIG. 6. After removal of the desired amount of the contents of the bag 10, such as cookies, the bag 10 can be reclosed by folding the end 24 of the bag 10 upon itself as illustrated in FIG. 3 and then folding the tabs 26 containing the wire 18 around the edges of the bag 10. The deformable wire 18 will retain the top end 24 of the bag 10 in a folded and closed position and minimize the entrance of air into the bag 10 so that product freshness can be maintained. As is readily apparent, the closure of the present invention is tamperproof and can be easily and repeatedly opened and closed while at the same time maintaining the freshness of the product within the bag.

What is claimed is:

l. A container having a tamperproof, reclosable closure, the container opening being made of sheet material and having opposite front and rear walls with the upper portions defining an opening and lying substantially against each other when in the closed position, the closure comprising a strip of material having a thermoplastic, heat-sealable material on one side thereof, a portion of the width of the strip being folded upon itself and heat-sealed in a face-to-face relationship about a deformable metal strip to form an envelope for said metal strip and to thereby provide a closure strip, one side thereof including a first segment along the length thereof having a thermoplastic, heat-scalable material thereon and an adjacent segment along the length thereof of said strip material, the face of the other side of said closure strip comprising said closure strip material, the length of the closure strip being greater than the width of the container opening to provide end portions which project from the sides of the container opening, said closure strip being affixed to said container opening by heat-sealing said first segment of the closure strip to one wall of the container opening, the end portions of said closure strip being folded around said container opening, said first segment being heatsealed to said other wall to thereby seal the container opening, Said end portions of the closure strip including a weakened line adjacent the envelope formed about the deformable metal strip to facilitate detachment and refolding of the envelope and enclosed metal strip for opening and reclosing the container.

2. The container of claim 1 wherein said container is of the bag type fonned of sheet material and including a front wall and rear wall, pleated about fold lines on either side thereof to permit expansion of the bag when filled.

3. The bag of claim 2 including an inner, plastic liner to serve as a moisture barrier.

4. The container of claim 1 wherein the deformable wire comprises a flat wire strip, co-extensive with the length of the closure strip.

5. The container of claim 1 therein the walls of the container opening are folded over at least once before the first segment of the end portions of the closure strip is sealed to said other wall to seal the container. 

1. A container having a tamperproof, reclosable closure, the container opening being made of sheet material and having opposite front and rear walls with the upper portions defining an opening and lying substantially against each other when in the closed position, the closure comprising a strip of material having a thermoplastic, heat-sealable material on one side thereof, a portion of the width of the strip being folded upon itself and heat-sealed in a face-to-face relationship about a deformable metal strip to form an envelope for said metal strip and to thereby provide a closure strip, one side thereof including a first segment along the length thereof having a thermoplastic, heat-sealable material thereon and an adjacent segment along the length thereof of said strip material, the face of the other side of said closure strip comprising said closure strip material, the length of the closure strip being greater than the width of the container opening to provide end portions which project from the sides of the container opening, said closure strip being affixed to said container opening by heatsealing said fIrst segment of the closure strip to one wall of the container opening, the end portions of said closure strip being folded around said container opening, said first segment being heat-sealed to said other wall to thereby seal the container opening, Said end portions of the closure strip including a weakened line adjacent the envelope formed about the deformable metal strip to facilitate detachment and refolding of the envelope and enclosed metal strip for opening and reclosing the container.
 2. The container of claim 1 wherein said container is of the bag type formed of sheet material and including a front wall and rear wall, pleated about fold lines on either side thereof to permit expansion of the bag when filled.
 3. The bag of claim 2 including an inner, plastic liner to serve as a moisture barrier.
 4. The container of claim 1 wherein the deformable wire comprises a flat wire strip, co-extensive with the length of the closure strip.
 5. The container of claim 1 therein the walls of the container opening are folded over at least once before the first segment of the end portions of the closure strip is sealed to said other wall to seal the container. 